Lottery scam: Man dupes 475 of Rs 2.8 crore in Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD: When a moneylender from Behrampura floated a scheme offering a chance at grabbing Rs 2 lakh prize money in a lucky draw, hundreds enrolled in his financial scheme. However, when it was time to pay up, the man disappeared with Rs 2.78 crore he scammed out of 475 victims.
A complaint in this regard was filed with the city crime branch on Monday against Mahesh Bhadra, who ran various finance firms in Behrampura, Vatva and Nava Naroda.
The complaint stated, “In June 2018, Bhadra floated two schemes offering instant money or lottery rewards. In the first scheme, a participant had to pay Rs 2,000 every month for 32 months. If he was selected in a lucky draw held on the 16th of every month, he would get a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh. If the person does not land the prize, then he would get Rs 64,000 plus an additional Rs 6,000 at the end of the 32-month period. The scheme was meant for a group of 30 members.”
It added, “The second scheme was bigger with 60 participants. Apart from cash reward of Rs 2 lakh, they were also promised life insurance of Rs 3 lakh.”
Bhadra used to allegedly deposit the amount in the account of his firm, Anand Finance, and provided incentives to agents who brought members to enrol in his schemes. “Initially, a couple of members got rewards, but then the payment became irregular. In February 2021, when he was supposed to return the deposit with interest to all members, he began avoiding people. When he went incommunicado, a missing person complaint was filed with Krishnanagar police on June 26, 2021.”
One of his agents who filed the complaint also accused Bhadra’s son Chirag and daughter Mamta of being complicit in the crime. The police registered a complaint of cheating and also booked the accused on charges under sections of the Gujarat Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act and The Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes.